1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical monitoring, more specifically, to a system and method for remote monitoring of a pregnancy-related physiological condition in a pregnant female patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical monitoring involves the measurement of a physiological condition of a patient. An example of a medical monitor is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. Nos. 09/669,125 (filed Sep. 25, 2000) and 09/821,417 (filed Mar. 29, 2001, xe2x80x9cMonitoring Systemxe2x80x9d), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. With certain medical conditions, it is advantageous from a health and cost perspective to conduct this type of monitoring within a home-based setting. For example, a pregnant female patient may require periodic evaluation of uterine activity for pre-term labor management by a healthcare provider. In the past, the patient was taught to time her uterine contractions, and report her results to the healthcare provider. However, this method is not very accurate, since it relies on the patient to accurately perceive uterine activity. Alternatively, the patient was monitored either in her home or at the doctor""s office using an electronic uterine monitoring system. Monitoring the patient at the doctor""s office requires frequent visits to the doctor""s office, which is time consuming and may contradict prophylactic bed rest for a high risk patient.
Home monitoring involves the use of a home uterine activity monitor, which includes a transducer operatively connected to a data recorder, which is operatively connected via a phone line to a healthcare provider. Activation of the transducer produces a signal that is transmitted via the phone lines to the healthcare provider for evaluation. The signal may be sent directly to the healthcare provider, or to a home healthcare management service, for data analysis and evaluation.
While these types of pregnancy monitors work, they utilize a dedicated data recorder and transmitting device. Thus, there is a need in the art for a remote pregnancy monitor that measures a physiological condition of the pregnant female patient, including her in-utero fetus, and collects the data on a personal digital assistant and transmits the collected data via the Internet for analysis and evaluation purposes.
Accordingly, the present invention is a system and method for remote monitoring of a pregnant woman. The system includes an ultrasound transducer positioned on a pregnant woman having a processor, a transmitter and a receiver, and a personal digital assistant operatively connected to the ultrasound transducer via a communication link. The system also includes a patient computer system operatively connected to the personal digital assistant via a second communication link. The system further includes a healthcare provider computer system operatively connected to the patient computer system via an internet, and activation of the ultrasound transducer generates a data signal transmitted to the personal digital assistant via the communication link, and transmission of the signal to the healthcare provider computer system via the second communication link, for monitoring the pregnant woman by a healthcare provider. The method includes the steps of positioning the ultrasound transducer on the pregnant female in a predetermined location to monitor a predetermined condition and activating the ultrasound transducer to generate a signal for monitoring the predetermine condition. The method also includes the steps of transmitting the signal from the ultrasound transducer to the personal digital assistant, and transmitting the signal for monitoring the predetermined condition via an internet to a healthcare provider computer. The method further includes the steps of using the signal to remotely monitor the pregnant woman.
One advantage of the present invention is that a system and method for remote pregnancy monitoring is provided that measures a physiological condition of the pregnant female patient, stores the data, and transmits the data regarding the pregnancy to a healthcare provider via the Internet. Another advantage of the present invention is that the system and method includes an ultrasound transducer that measures the physiological condition of the pregnant woman. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the system and method includes a personal digital assistant that stores the measured data and transmits the data via the Internet to the healthcare provider. A further advantage of the present invention is that the healthcare provider can evaluate the condition of the pregnant woman in real-time, irrespective of their physical locations.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.